Faith
Hope
LOVE

The McEwen congregation had its beginning in 1920 in the old college building located on the site of the former McEwen Manufacturing Company, with the M.R. Martin, W.E. Long, S.A. Bunnell and Sam May families, Mrs. Charlie Bratcher and Viston Dunagan in attendance. This group moved from the old college building to the homes of its members until a building was constructed a few years later.

In 1921, Andy T. Ritchie, Sr., held the first gospel meeting in a tent in a grove of trees adjacent to the S.C. Chronister residence. John Hill held the ond meeting in 1922 in the Presbyterian Church building, then located on Long Street. The C.E. James family moved from the Bold Springs area to McEwen in 1922 and the church began assembling in the James residence. Some of the families attending services there were the families of M.R. Martin, C.E. James, Gid Palk, Sam May, S.A. Bunnell, J.M. Phy, Tom Meadow, W.E. Long, Lem Palk and Viston Dunagan. 

This group of zealous Christians began to realize one of its dreams when a site was purchased from the McEwen Masonic Lodge for $1,000. Upon this site and with great sacrifices on the part of all, plus a loan from the McEwen Bank, the first church building became a reality. Contributions during those days were very small, ranging from $5 to $15 per Sunday, but the church kept faith and the loan was fully repaid. 

The church was growing in numbers and full of faith. The J.H. Murrell family moved to McEwen, and Zoretta Murrell Gentry was among the first to obey the gospel in the new building. 

In 1926 the McEwen church began hiring the ministers that were preaching for the Waverly congregation to come and preach once a month. Among these were Thomas Waggoner, O.C. Lambert, J.E. Greene and Homer Royster. Many young men from David Lipscomb College preached at intervals, along with B.B. James and J.H. Murrell. 

In 1949 the church hired Steve Hudgens as its first full time preacher. Afterwards came Mont Whitson, Charles Bland, Morris Land, Keith Robinson, Earl Edwards, Noel Meredith, John Futtrell, Gene Strouss, James England Jr., Roy Vaughan, Dwight Hatley, Charles F. Hamm, Tim Pickle and James (Jim) Suddeath. Jerry Senn served for more than two years as a song leader and youth minister beginning in 1984. 

The church membership realized the necessity for a preacher's residence. In 1950 the elders, David Abernathy, M.R. Martin and Elick Wilson, purchased a lot from Frank Hargis bordering Old Hurricane Creek Road and Highway 70. A residence was to be constructed on the north side of this lot, leaving the south side for a future church building. The house was completed about 1953 through donations of work, materials and money. The congregation grew so rapidly in the 1940s and 1950s that the need for a larger building became necessary. Again members donated their time, talents and money to the new project. The church assembled in the new building on the first Lord's Day in January 1960. This building contained eight classrooms, an auditorium to seat 225, baptistry, restrooms and nursery along with ample parking space. Noel Meredith preached the first sermon and Elick Wilson led the first prayer in this building. A few years later the congregation purchased the Jack Lovett property with additional highway frontage for future expansion. In 1967 and 1968, new additions and remodeling were completed on the preacher's residence. 

Church attendance continued to grow in the 1960s and early 1970s. By 1974, the elders initiated steps to take care of the growth. A building committee was appointed, plans drawn and construction began. This project including enlarging the auditorium to seat 460, remodeling the baptistery, new pews and carpeting, remodeling the nursery, one regular-sized classroom, two large rooms with sliding partitions to convert into four classrooms, two restrooms, an office and paved parking area. The congregation began using the new facilities in 1975. In 1994, a two story addition was built on the northeast side of the facility. The upper room has a communion preperation room, restrooms, library, church office and minister's study, as well as three classrooms. The lower floor is a fellowship hall. In 2003, the kitchen was remodleled and new cabinets and counters were added in the kitchen and fellowship hall. 

The first elders for the McEwen congregation were M.R. Martin, David Abernathy and Elick Wilson. The first deacons were Viston Dunagan, Bethel Gentry and Egbert Pullen. C.E. James was the song leader from 1925 until shortly before his passing in 1938. Carl Long, Sr. who later preached for the Wildwood Valley congegationand the Hustburg congregation, served as song leader for a number of years. Other song leaders have included the following: Jody Banes, Joe Smith and Nathan Stuart, along with a number of other men of the congregation. Mark Forster now serves as the full-time song leader. Mark is also one of our deacons, who works with our youth program. 

Jim Suddeath served as the pulpit minister from 1979-2007. He was born in Todd County, Kentucky in 1939 and graduated from Pembroke High School in 1957. He attended Mid-South Electronics Institute in Nashville and began a career in radio announcing. He also attended the community college in Hopkinsville, Kentucky and David Lipscomb College. He and his wife Betty, have three children: James, Angela and John as well as 5 grandchildren. Mrs. Suddeath served as church ratary from 1987-2007. Bro. Suddeath began preaching in his early 20's on a part-time basis. He graduated from Sunset School of Preaching in Lubbock, Texas; served in the mission field in the Republic of South Africa for three years; preached for the church in Whiteville, North Carolina for two years; and preached for the Little River church near Hopkinsville, Kentucky for more than five years. He began working with the McEwen congregation in January 1979, and served until January 2002, except for serving as a coordinator for Leadership and Church Growth International, Florence, Alabama from September 1986 to August 1987.

Wilson Wallace was the pulpit minister during Bro. Suddeath's absence.  

James Wall began working with the McEwen congregation in March 1994 as youth minister, and continued in that role until Bro. Suddeath's semi-retirement in January 2002. Bro. Suddeath continued working with the congreagtion on a parttime basis until December 2003, and Bro. Wall became the full-time minister in January 2002 and continued until August 2004. Bro.Suddeath returned as full-time pulpit minister in August 2004 when Bro. Wall returned to his previous job as a database administrator for American Healthways. Scott Pena served as full time youth minister from January 2004 to 2006. He is a native of Lexington, Kentucky, and a graduate from Freed-Hardeman University in 2003 with a bachelor of arts degree in Bible. His wife, Amanda, also graduated from Freed-Hardeman and was a kindergarten teacher at McEwen Elementary School.